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APGA Supports Members by Participating in Pipeline Security Calls

By Joshua St.Pierre posted 06-20-2024 01:24 PM

  
On June 18, APGA staff joined other industry stakeholders and government partners on a regular call hosted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The purpose of these calls is to enable information sharing between industry groups and government security partners on topics relevant to physical security and cybersecurity of the natural gas industry, particularly public gas systems. Federal government security partners recognize the critical role APGA member utilities play in the delivery of energy to millions of customers across the country. Unfortunately, bad actors seek to target members of the natural gas industry in various ways. Efforts like this from the TSA help better position both government and industry partners to defend against and respond to these bad actors. 
 
A key topic of conversation at this recent TSA Pipeline Security call was that June is National Internet Safety Month. Congress designated June as National Internet Safety Month in 2005, recognizing the importance of educating the country on online safety and best practices. TSA recommends that public gas utilities ensure that their employees are up-to-date on the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) recommended internet best practices. Read more about National Internet Safety Month and find other helpful cybersecurity resources here.
 
On June 13, APGA staff participated in a briefing with government partners, as a part of the Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council (ONG-SCC). APGA staff, along with other representatives from the oil and natural gas industry, advocated on behalf of the broad interests of our members in both the physical and cybersecurity spaces. The oil and natural gas industry has seen unprecedented threats in recent years. Ensuring that lines of communication with our government partners are open is incredibly important as public gas utilities work to strengthen their security measures. It is also important that our partners in these agencies hear from us on the unique perspectives that small, medium, and large public gas utilities bring to the table. This briefing also allowed for APGA staff to stress the need for harmonization of government security efforts, adequate funding mechanisms to accomplish these, and feasible requirements for utilities.
 
For questions on this article, please contact Josh St.Pierre of APGA staff by phone at 202-407-0015 or by email at jstpierre@apga.org.

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